"Excuse me, miss? How many Sauces does this place have for me to dip my fries in?"
-Matt McManus

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Care?

I
went jogging tonight in Los Angeles. The setting sun and the fall breeze
coupled with the full moon made me eager for another beautiful autumn on the
west coast. I'm 33 now – I’ve experienced 33 autumns, and I’m lucky - I’m lucky
to be alive. I think about that all the
time. Every once in a while I’m reminded why.

As
I approached the intersection of Santa Monica Blvd. & La Cienega, the
center of the city, I heard the sound of breaking glass. My eyes searched for
the origin of the sound and found a young lady that had just dropped something
on the concrete. Out of instinct I ran to her. She was frozen there on the
sidewalk with a horrified look on her face, trembling. Two other people stood
by as she shook in silence. I told one of them to call an ambulance. I asked
the girl her name, if she knew where she was, and if she could tell me where
she was going. Her response over and over was “What?” I asked her if she’d taken anything we should
be aware of, and if she had the ability to sit down. Again she responded
“What?”

The
man who called the ambulance was instructed to tell her to lie on her left side.
I held her hands, guided her to the ground and gently placed her on her side. I
laid down facing her and calmly tried to make her feel better with my words. I
had her breathe with me and follow my smile. She eventually told me her name,
where she lived, where she was coming from, and that she lived with a sibling
but she was still very incoherent. Her pupils finally started to stop rapidly
jumping around her eyes as she heard the sirens approaching. She then sat up
slowly, began speaking very clearly and informed us of three things; she is an
epileptic and this happens from time to time when she forgets her medication,
she had to go before the ambulance arrived because she couldn’t afford the
treatment, and if her sibling found out about this something bad would
happen.

This
girl was afraid to accept professional help because it would put her in debt. As I was realizing this, the firemen and EMT’s
approached us and she very articulately informed them of her epilepsy and that
they need not worry. They probably saw the look on her face they’ve seen before
on many strangers, the look that says, “I can’t afford your help.” They spent a
couple more moments with her. I held her
hand, said goodbye and went on my way.

The
look of fear I saw on her face is one I know all too well. A few years back I contracted a staph
infection that almost killed me. I was 4 days shy of eligible for benefits at
my job. I was in a hospital, without insurance, for nearly three months. I was
a 25-year-old bartender being sued by that hospital for $185,000. After years
and years of hard work and help from my family we were bled dry until the debt
was gone.

Then
two years ago while riding my bike, I was hit by a car. The driver, busy texting, blew a stop sign
and hit me going 60MPH.

I
didn’t have health insurance because I couldn’t afford it. I was a struggling
artist in a new town just trying to get ahead. At that point even a full time
service industry job wouldn’t have provided me health benefits.

I
don’t remember being picked up by the ambulance that afternoon, but they told
me later I’d said I was fine and could just go home. Even in a state of
complete shock I was wary of the looming price tag of the care I’d need, and horrified
of telling my family I was in a hospital without coverage yet again. I got 17
stiches in my face that day and needed 4 months of physical therapy.

I
don’t know the circumstances of the young lady I met tonight, but if she’s
taking the bus, has no health insurance and has had multiple seizures in a
short period of time it’s not because she forgot her medication but because she
can’t afford it.

I
don’t follow much policy, or even take sides that frequently. I grew up in a household
that was one part hippy, one part frat boy, passionately exposed to both sides
but I didn’t like the turbulence so I stayed out of the sky. When my brother joined the Marines I was
forced to follow policy so I began reading the news. Now that I had a horse in
the race I’d started taking sides.

Calling
an ambulance shouldn’t be a luxury. We shouldn’t recoil, afraid of the expense,
we should take solace in the approaching sirens, thankful the help we need is
on the way. People should have the right to stay healthy regardless of their rank
in our socioeconomic hierarchy.

Our
president made it his mission to afford us ALL this luxury. His plan isn’t
perfect, but it strives to be. People are historically uncomfortable with change,
but if we gave into the resistance we’d still have slavery.

Yes,
our country is running out of money. We
needed to raise the debt ceiling. I guarantee that most people don’t know what
it is or understand its correlation to the government shutdown. But I bet that
they know someone with cancer, or a child with autism, or someone who was in a
car accident, or someone who has epilepsy.

These
are real people who we all know, people who contribute to society. Marshal McLuhan stated that it takes a
village. It truly does and it always has. It’s time the villagers ask the right
questions.

I’m
33. I’m an artist. I’m an American.

I’m
happy to be alive, to experience this autumn, this year, this life. Who knows
what would have happened if an ambulance didn’t come get me that day. Who knows
what would have happened tonight with this young lady, maybe she’s someone you
know.

Health
insurance is a ridiculous concept when you think about it. People and employers
spending ridiculous sums of money every month their entire lives in the event
something happens. Something always
happens. How about just making health care affordable for when it does?

2 comments:

Starting my business I had several instances just like this. My ankle still hurts and I nearly died from pneumonia. I passed out and was driven home by a girl I was dating. I didn't have enough oxygen to stay conscious so I went home and hoped I would make it through the night. I'm a successful in business now, but I had to start somewhere.

While studying at a large state university I found myself "encumbered" entering my second semester. There was a problem with the records from the first semester, and a question of money - and I couldn't "officially" register until this was resolved. (Never mind that they were happy to let me rack up a room and board charge.)

A month later I developed what I thought was a cold. It got worse. I went to Health Services, but was denied service because I "was not registered that semester." My cold got worse. My parents ended up driving seven hours through a snow storm to get me when I became so ill that I could barely move, and took me to the ER when we returned home. Diagnosis? Strep throat, tonsillitis, and a case of mono so bad that I was within hours of my spleen bursting.